Alice the Amazing ⇒ STRANGER THINGS

[Prologue] Dorks and Dragons

{The Vanishing of Will Byers, Part I}

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Alice Henderson didn't hate a lot of things.

She strongly disliked rude people. She had an aversion to cabbages. She despised Go Fish, because, somehow, she always lost to her little brother Dustin.

But, she did hate one thing: Dungeons and Dragons.

She hoped Dustin was finally finished playing his game as she rode her bike to the Wheeler's house. He'd been gone for almost 10 hours, and while the peace and quiet at home had been nice, her mom had sent her to pick Dustin up.

Alice flew through Hawkins on her blue bike, hair whipping behind her. She wanted to make this quick, so she could get back to how she had been spending her Sunday evening—reading comics and eating leftover Halloween candy until her stomach hurt.

She arrived at the Wheeler's house just as her little brother and his friends mounted their bikes. The boys were discussing Mike's big sister, Nancy.

"...like that time she dressed up as an elf for our Elder Tree campaign!" Dustin said.

"Four years ago!" Mike protested.

"Hey, losers," Alice interrupted, hitting the brakes on her bike. "How was Mages and Monsters?"

Her brother Dustin rolled his eyes.

"Al, for the last time, it's called Dungeons and Dragons."

Alice shrugged.

"Same thing."

"It's not, though," Lucas Sinclair said with a snicker.

"Whatever. Did you guys defeat any monsters or dark knights? Save any damsels? Rule any kingdoms?"

Mike sighed.

"Stop pretending like you know what Dungeons and Dragons is," he said, crossing his arms.

"You're only embarrassing yourself," Dustin added with a shrug.

"Hey," Alice snapped, "Show some respect! I came all this way to bike home with you! I should be at home, relaxing, not freezing out here."

"You know you love me," Dustin said, grinning a toothless grin.

"Whatever. Now, let's hurry up and get this show on the road."

Will Byers, the scrawniest of the group, was saying something to Mike Wheeler, but quickly he waved goodbye and followed the other boys and Alice.

"Good night, ladies!" Lucas called when he arrived at his house.

"Kiss your mom 'night for me!" Dustin called.

"See you, Sinclair," Alice said, waving.

Dustin grinned at Will. "Race you back to my place? Al can judge. Winner gets a comic."

Will considered the offer with a soft smile on his face.

"Any comic? Even Al's limited editions ones?"

Alice narrowed her eyes.

"Absolutely not! Mine are off the table. Dusty, this is all you."

"Yeah, any of my comics—Hey! Hey!"

While Dustin was talking, Will took his chance to speed away.

"I didn't say 'go'!" Dustin shouted. "Get back here! I'm gonna kill you!"

Alice laughed as Dustin tried to catch up to no avail.

"I'll take your X-Men 134!" Will shouted as he zipped past the Henderson residence.

"Son of a bitch," Dustin mumbled as he braked in front of their house.

Alice shook her head. "Tough luck, Dusty, but Will won."

"Don't call me Dusty."

"Okay, Dusty."

The siblings stepped off their bikes and walked them into the garage.

"Wait, before we go inside," Dustin said, lowering his voice. "Have you found anything out yet?"

"No luck yet," Alice said, the glimmer in her eyes dimming somewhat. "It's hard to track down someone who doesn't want to be found."

"You'll find them one of these days," Dustin said, patting Alice on the arm. "As long as you don't leave me and mom behind if your birth parents turn out to be rich or something."

Alice smirked.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, dork."

She took his hat off and ruffled his hair.

"Son of a bitch," Dustin said, snatching his hat back. "Hands off the curls!"

He ran inside and shouted, "Ma! We're home!"

Alice followed, but as she turned to close the door, she felt a chill in the air. She shivered and turned to look down the way Will had gone.

Unbeknownst to her, and the rest of Hawkins, when the sun would rise the next morning, everything was going to change.